Kiln: An Overview
Kiln is an enterprise-grade staking platform that aggregates Staking-as-a-Service for institutions and individuals via APIs, widgets, and applications. It simplifies access to yield opportunities across many blockchain protocols and supports integrations for custodians, wallets, and exchanges.
Quick answer
Kiln is an enterprise-grade staking platform that aggregates Staking-as-a-Service for institutions and individuals via APIs, widgets, and applications. It simplifies access to yield opportunities across many blockchain protocols and supports integrations for custodians, wallets, and exchanges.
Kiln provides enterprise-grade staking infrastructure for both institutions and individual users, operating as an aggregator that delivers Staking-as-a-Service. The company supplies APIs, embeddable widgets, and applications intended to make it easier to access yield-generating mechanisms across a variety of blockchain networks.
Overview
Kiln’s stated aim is to lower barriers to participating in blockchain security and consensus, enabling holders of cryptocurrencies to help secure networks and receive rewards in return. The company brands itself as an infrastructure provider in the digital-asset ecosystem with the slogan, "Democratising value creation in digital assets." Its main commercial approach is to act as an aggregator and facilitator, supplying a platform and toolset that lets institutional customers—such as custodians, wallets, exchanges, and asset managers—embed "Earn" features inside their own products.
The platform is designed to be chain-agnostic and supports over 30 Proof-of-Stake networks. By 2025, Kiln reported more than $18 billion in delegated assets under management. Over time the firm shifted from directly operating staking infrastructure toward functioning as a neutral marketplace, focusing on providing access to services from multiple staking operators and protocols instead of competing with them.
To meet institutional requirements, Kiln attained SOC 2 Type II compliance, addressing security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy standards. The company additionally offers slashing coverage intended to reduce financial risk from validator misbehavior or downtime, a principal hazard in staking.
- 2025: Surpassed $18 billion in delegated assets under management.
- January 2026: Reported validator performance for Solana, achieving a 7.11% Gross Rewards Rate (GRR) with a skip rate 0.21 points lower than the network average.
- Undated (pre-2026): Became SOC 2 Type II compliant, a key institutional benchmark.
- Undated (pre-2026): Announced it would support staking for the Monad (MON) network.
History
Kiln was established in 2018 by Laszlo Szabo, Thomas de Phuoc, and Ernest Oppetit and is based in Paris, France.
From 2021 through 2023, the company concentrated on building and delivering staking infrastructure and APIs across multiple blockchain networks. After 2023, Kiln broadened its focus to creating wider institutional infrastructure for on-chain asset management, aligning its efforts with sector growth in tokenized stablecoins and Real-World Assets (RWAs).
September 2025 Security Incident and Validator Exit
In September 2025, a vulnerability in an API provided by Kiln was exploited, resulting in an estimated $40 million loss in Solana (SOL) tokens from one of Kiln's partners, SwissBorg.
Following the exploit, on September 10, 2025, Kiln began an "orderly exit" from all remaining Ethereum validator nodes it managed as a precaution to protect customer assets from potential further vulnerabilities. The company estimated the exit would require between 10 and 42 days, during which the validators would keep earning rewards, and indicated that withdrawals initiated after the incident could take up to nine days to complete.
- 2018: Company founded by Laszlo Szabo, Thomas de Phuoc, and Ernest Oppetit; headquartered in Paris, France.
- 2021–2023: Primary focus on developing staking infrastructure and APIs for various blockchain networks.
- September 2025: API exploit led to a loss of approximately $40 million in Solana (SOL) tokens from SwissBorg.
- September 10, 2025: Initiated an orderly exit from managed Ethereum validator nodes, estimating a 10–42 day exit period with up to nine days for post-incident withdrawals.
Products
Staking and Yield-Generation
Integration and Aggregator Tools
These integration capabilities form the backbone of Kiln's aggregator approach, enabling many firms to provide staking services to their client bases.
Bitcoin Staking
Kiln participates in nascent Bitcoin staking efforts that allow Bitcoin (BTC) to be used to help secure other blockchain networks. This mechanism differs from conventional Proof-of-Stake staking and aims to "bootstrap additional protocols' economic security by tapping into the massive idle supply" of Bitcoin. The platform supports implementations such as Babylon, Core, and Stacks, and Kiln has produced a podcast series titled "Kiln BTC Staking Rendez-Vous" to explore these developing technologies.
- Validators-as-a-Service: Institutional-grade validator infrastructure supporting staking across more than 30 Proof-of-Stake networks.
- Enterprise Dashboard: A consolidated B2B interface for overseeing staked capital, monitoring yield, and managing "Earn" initiatives across multiple protocols.
- Kiln On-Chain: A customizable, whitelabelled staking solution for Ethereum that provides dedicated validators for users staking 32 ETH or more and a pooled staking option for users with less than 32 ETH.
- dApp: A consumer-facing decentralized application that simplifies staking and restaking on Ethereum, including a one-click functionality.
- DeFi Products: Access to decentralized finance yields through offerings like OmniVault, an infrastructure layer for curated DeFi strategies, plus direct integrations with protocols such as Aave, Morpho, and Compound.
- Kiln Connect: A comprehensive suite of SDKs and APIs.
- One SDK: A single software development kit that standardizes interactions for staking, rewards administration, and related functions across supported protocols.
- Reporting API: Provides near real-time on-chain data and reporting for tracking staked assets and rewards.
- Transaction Crafting API: An API designed to facilitate the creation, signing, and broadcasting of staking and unstaking transactions.
- Kiln Widget: A no-code, embeddable component that enables partners to add and manage an "Earn" section within their own apps or websites with minimal development effort.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Kiln’s operating model depends on an extensive set of integrations and partnerships with institutional counterparties.
Clients and Integrations
Strategic Partnerships
For Bitcoin staking, Kiln integrates with institutional custody partners including Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, and Fordefi.
- VanEck
- CoinShares
- Fireblocks
- Ledger
- Coinbase
- Crypto.com
- Binance.US
- Trust Wallet: Kiln integrated native stablecoin yield services into the Trust Wallet application, which generated over $184 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) across USDC, USDT, and DAI within its first nine months.
- SwissBorg: Kiln acted as the staking partner for SwissBorg, supplying the API infrastructure for SwissBorg's "Solana Earn" program.
- Safe (formerly Gnosis Safe): Kiln supplies the underlying infrastructure for yield generation on selected products within the Safe ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kiln?
Kiln is an enterprise-grade staking platform that aggregates Staking-as-a-Service for institutions and individuals via APIs, widgets, and applications. It simplifies access to yield opportunities across many blockchain protocols and supports integrations for custodians, wallets, and exchanges.
How does Kiln work?
Kiln operates through smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Users interact directly with the protocol via a web interface or wallet integration — no account creation or KYC is required. All operations are settled on-chain and are publicly verifiable.
Is Kiln safe to use?
Kiln has undergone smart contract audits and is among the more established protocols in DeFi. However, all DeFi protocols carry inherent risks including smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, and liquidation risk. Users should only commit funds they can afford to lose and review the protocol's audit reports before participating.
What blockchain is Kiln built on?
Kiln is primarily deployed on Ethereum. Many leading DeFi protocols are also expanding to Layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base to reduce transaction costs and improve throughput.
What are the risks of using Kiln?
Key risks include smart contract exploits, governance attacks, oracle manipulation, liquidity crises, and regulatory uncertainty. DeFi protocols are uninsured — losses from exploits are typically not recoverable. Always review audits and understand the mechanism before depositing funds.
How do I get started with Kiln?
To use Kiln, you need a self-custody wallet (such as MetaMask or Rabby), ETH for gas fees, and the relevant tokens for the action you want to perform. Visit the official protocol interface, connect your wallet, and follow the on-screen steps. Start with a small amount to familiarise yourself with the UX.
What token does Kiln use?
Kiln typically has a native governance token that allows holders to vote on protocol parameters, fee structures, and treasury allocations. Check the protocol's documentation for the current token ticker, total supply, and distribution schedule.
Who created Kiln?
Kiln was founded by a team of blockchain developers and DeFi researchers. The protocol is typically governed by a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), meaning ongoing development and parameter changes are decided collectively by token holders rather than a central company.
What is the total value locked (TVL) in Kiln?
Kiln's TVL fluctuates with market conditions and can be tracked in real time on DeFiLlama (defillama.com). TVL measures the total value of assets deposited into the protocol and is a key indicator of user confidence and liquidity depth.
How does Kiln compare to other DeFi protocols?
Kiln is differentiated by its specific mechanism, fee structure, and supported assets. Comparing protocols should include factors such as audited security posture, capital efficiency, governance maturity, cross-chain availability, and historical uptime. DeFiLlama and Dune Analytics provide side-by-side comparative data.